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Former World Cup winner Harbhajan Singh has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Friday (December 24). The 41-year-old has announced his retirement five years after he played his last international match. The member of two World Cup-winning squads, Harbhajan will go down as one of the legends of the game in Indian cricket.
Harbhajan's retirement statement
Harbhajan in an official statement said, "It’s an emotional moment for me because I have decided to retire from all form s of cricket, a game that has given me everything that I have today. I have been fighting with this thought of retiring for some years now. But love for this game delayed my decision.
I would have made this announcement earlier, but I wanted to honour my commitment with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Just like any other cricketer, I also had a wish to retire in Indian colors. But you don’t always get what you wish for," an emotional Harbhajan spoke in his retirement speech."
A career spanning 23 years
Having made his debut against Australia in March 1998, Harbhajan's career has come to an end as it marks the end of an era in Indian cricket. The veteran off-spinner last played international cricket in March 2016 in a T20I match against UAE. His last ODI match was against South Africa in October 2015 having also played his last Test match in the same year against Sri Lanka.
Test Career
The right-arm off-spinner will go down as one of India’s most successful players of all time with 417 Test wickets in 103 appearances. Only Anil Kumble, Kapil Dev and Ravichandran Ashwin have taken more Test wickets for India than him. He is the 14th most successful bowler in Test cricket with his tally of 417 wickets. His batting performances were always a treat to watch as he smashed back-to-back hundreds against New Zealand in November 2010 with the best score of 115.
ODI Career
The talismanic spinner has 269 wickets to his name from 236 ODIs as he was instrumental in India’s World Cup-winning campaign in 2011. Harbhajan remains a rare personality in Indian cricket as he played in two ODI World Cup finals, having picked up two wickets in the 2003 World Cup final and one in 2011 edition's final. He also scored 1,237 runs in ODI cricket.
T20I and IPL Career
Harbhajan’s legendary status was cemented in 2007 as he won the inaugural T20 World Cup for India. In 28 T20I matches, he was successful in scalping 25 wickets. He was also successful in the Indian Premier League (IPL) by grabbing 150 wickets for three franchises. His major spell in the IPL came with Mumbai Indians (MI) with whom he played for a decade from 2008 to 2018 before moving to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). He won the four IPL titles, three of which came with MI.
The Jalandhar-born star was India’s first bowler to register a Test hat-trick. The feat was achieved in the historic Kolkata Test in 2001 as India won the match despite being asked to follow-on.
With Harbhajan announcing his retirement, only a few active players remain from the 2007 T20 World Cup-winning squad and 2011 ODI World Cup-winning squad. It's officially the end of one of India’s most celebrated cricketing careers.
